Build-up
Preview
Football
Preview:
Chelsea vs. PAOK - prediction, team news, lineups
By Daniel
Lewis,
Football
League Correspondent
Chelsea will
be aiming to extend their perfect record in Europa League Group L when they
welcome PAOK to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.
The Blues are
already assured of a place in the last 32 of the competition and can make
certain of top spot by avoiding defeat against the Greek side.
Chelsea
In what is
their first ever participation in the Europa League group stage, Chelsea have
progressed through to the first knockout stage with minimal fuss, winning four
from four ahead of this visit of PAOK.
Following a
tricky but deserved 1-0 win in the reverse fixture two months ago, secured
through an early Willian goal at the Stadio Toumbas, Chelsea saw off Hungarian
minnows Videoton by the same scoreline and then earned back-to-back wins over
BATE Borisov.
It leaves the
Blues way out in front at the top of the Group L standings, six points better
off than closest challengers Vidi, who have just an outside chance of taking
first place off the Premier League giants.
Maurizio Sarri
therefore has the luxury of rotating his side for this fifth European matchday,
though his side's disappointing run of form may tempt the Italian to field a
stronger lineup against PAOK with the aim of picking up a first win in three
matches.
Chelsea may be
flying in Europe, but they have won just three of their last eight Premier
League matches and were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Tottenham Hotspur last
weekend, seeing them fall to fourth place in the table.
A lack of
momentum will be a concern to Sarri, who has repeatedly pointed out that his
squad is not strong enough to compete with Manchester City at the summit, so
getting back to winning ways on Thursday is all the more important.
With games
against West London rivals Fulham, now managed by former Blues boss Claudio
Ranieri, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Man City to come in quick succession,
Sarri's men cannot afford to perform as badly as they did at Wembley Stadium.
This match
with PAOK may therefore have come at the perfect time to restore some
confidence, with Chelsea winning each of their last five Europa League matches
on home soil - four of those by a 3-1 scoreline - and going 13 matches without
defeat at Stamford Bridge in European competition.
Getting that
Tottenham result out of the system, as well as nailing down top spot in Group L
with a game to spare, is now the immediate priority for Sarri.
Recent form in
Europa League: WWWW
Recent form
(all competitions): WWWWDL
were tipped to provide Chelsea with their sternest tests in Group L, but they have so far managed just three points from a possible 12 and are on the brink of exiting the competition proper at the first hurdle.
The Greek
side's only win and only goals came against BATE on matchday two, when coming
away from the Borisov Arena with a 4-1 triumph.
They have
failed to push on since then, however, losing 2-0 and 1-0 at home and away to
Vidi, leaving them three points behind the Hungarian outfit and with their fate
no longer in their own hands.
A failure to
win at Stamford Bridge, coupled with a Vidi draw against BATE, would bring
PAOK's European adventure to an end for another year. Victory for Vidi away at
BATE in the early kickoff, meanwhile, will render this fixture a dead rubber
for Razvan Lucescu's side.
PAOK retained
the Greek cup last season but missed out on a place in both the Champions
League and Europa League, so no matter what happens this week, they have
already bettered their European return from 2017-18.
Being dumped
out of a favourable Europa League group after five, or possibly four, matches
is not exactly what Lucescu would have envisaged, however, especially having
knocked out Basel and Spartak Moscow in Champions League qualifying, only to
then fall short against Benfica in the playoffs.
When making it
to the Europa League group phase PAOK tend to do well, progressing through to
the knockouts in four of their previous six campaigns, though never further
than the last 32.
The Solinka
side have won nine and drawn six of their previous 21 away group games in this
competition, meanwhile, and their 1-0 reverse at Vidi marked a first loss in
five European away matches this season.
Chelsea cannot
afford to completely write off the Greek visitors, then, especially as
Lucescu's side have hit form with three wins in a row since losing to Vidi,
most recently edging out Xanthi last weekend to leave themselves five points
clear at the top of the Super League.
Recent form in
Europa League: LWLL
Recent form
(all competitions): WDLWWW
An injury
sustained by Eden Hazard aside, Sarri has a fully-fit squad to choose from on
Thursday night.
A number of
fringe players are likely to get the nod here, even if top spot is not yet
secured, so the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Emerson Palmieri and Davide
Zappacosta should all return to the fold.
Ruben
Loftus-Cheek is also in contention, a month on from scoring a hat-trick in a
comfortable win against BATE here, while Olivier Giroud is expected to start
instead of Alvaro Morata up top.
In terms of
the visitors, Mauricio may return alongside Pontus Wernbloom in defensive
midfield if Lucescu continues to chop and change in that department.
Dimitris
Pelkas is another in line to return on the back of the loss to Vidi, though
Aleksandar Prijovic should continue to lead the line after following up his
goal in Serbia's win over Lithuania with a strike against Xanthi.
Meanwhile,
Omar El Kaddouri is at risk of missing PAOK's final game should he pick up a
yellow card on Thursday evening.
Chelsea
possible starting lineup:
Caballero;
Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Barkley;
Pedro, Giroud, Willian
PAOK possible
starting lineup:
Paschalakis;
Matos, Varela, Crespo, Tosca; Wernbloom, Mauricio; Limnios, Pelkas, Kaddouri;
Prijovic
Head To Head
Chelsea's 1-0
win in Salonika on matchday one was the first meeting between these two clubs
in a UEFA competition.
The English
side are now unbeaten in five matches against Greek opposition and have won
both home games, most recently beating Olympiacos 3-0 in the 2007-08 Champions
League last 16.
PAOK have a
good record away to Premier League opposition, meanwhile, drawing 1-1 with
Arsenal and winning 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on their previous two visits to
these shores.
We say:
Chelsea 3-0 PAOK
Chelsea have
not always been at their best on the continent this season, winning three of
their four matches 1-0, but they have ultimately got the job done on each
occasion to cruise into the last 32. All that is left now is to secure top spot
in Group L, which should not be too much of a problem against a struggling PAOK
side.
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